ÖBB has started the Koralmbahn tests carried out especially on the rail bridges subjected to a stress test. Trials have launched first on the 600 metres Drau Bridge in the Völkermarkt area, the future longest railway bridge in Carinthia.
In the current tests, up to six ÖBB locomotives, each weighing around 80 tonnes, are simultaneously loading the bridge structures.Meanwhile, all static data is collected and meticulously evaluated.In this way, the smallest deformations in the structure can be determined along the bridge.These are then compared with the previously calculated values.The locomotives had to be maneuvered to ten different positions so that all spans of the 600 meter long Drau Bridge were actually covered.
The stress test tour continues with the new Klopeiner Seebachbrücke, a new underpass and the railway bridge at Peratschitzen. The Jauntalbrücke,, one of the highest railway bridges in Austria, will be completed in October. Work is currently still underway on the new bridge support structure for the Koralmbahn (Koralm Railway).
In June, the first passenger train crossed the 33 km twin tube Koralm tunnel which connects the southern states of Carinthia and Styria.
The Koralmbahn tests in Carinthia are preparing the opening of the line between Klagenfurt and St. Paul im Lavanttal at the end of this year, with plans to complete the entire Koralmbahn between Graz and Klagenfurt in 2025.
The Koralmbahn new route has a length of 130 km of which 50 km are built in the tunnel. The new line has also 100 bridges and 23 stations and stops.
The Koralm Railway is part of the new Southern Line in Austria and one of the most important infrastructure projects in Europe, crossing the Koralpe massif more quickly and with more comfortable. The fastest connection will shrink from three hours to just 45 minutes. Western Styria and southern Carinthia can be reached even more easily – as can our neighbouring countries Hungary and Italy.
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